► BRAZIL: Arik Air now eyes a November launch for São Paulo flights; in talks with Embraer over possible deal for 15 jets.

Nigeria's Arik Air (W3) says it hopes to launch its vaunted Lagos - São Paulo, Brazil flights in November of this year, though this is still dependent on the Brazilian National Civil Aviation Agency (Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil - ANAC) issuing it convenient landing slots at Guarulhos International Airport.

► BRAZIL: TAM Lineas Aéreas, South African Airways sign codeshare deal.

As previously speculated about, South African Airways (SA) and Brazil's TAM Linhas Aéreas (JJ) have implemented a code share agreement in which SAA will place its designator code “SA” on flights operated by TAM from Sao Paulo to Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Curitiba, Brasília, Salvador, Florianopolis, Iguaçu Falls, Recife, Belo Horizonte. Likewise, TAM will place its designator code “JJ” on flights operated by SAA between Sao Paulo and Johannesburg, and to other cities within South Africa, namely, Cape Town, Durban, East London and Port Elizabeth. 

► MOZAMBIQUE: LAM plans Cape Town and Durban, Blantyre and Lilongwe in 2014; to cover all SADC capitals by 2017 with Brazil ops also on the radar.

Marlene Manave, the CEO of LAM - Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique (TM) has announced ambitious route expansion plans that will see the Mozambican carrier serving all Southern African Development Community (SADC) capitals by 2017 with Brazilian flights to follow.

►► BRAZIL: Ethiopian Airlines to start 787 flights to Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo via Lome from July 2013.

[UPDATE 19 MAY] Having postponed their intended December launch of flights to Brazil via Lome, Togo owing to "inconvenient slot times given the airline" by the Brazilian aviation authorities, Ethiopian Airlines is said to be readying itself for a possible 1 June 2013 service to Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil via Lome, Togo.

► ANGOLA: TAAG adjusts Brazil, Portugal operations from February to March.

TAAG Linhas Aéreas de Angola (DT), Angola's national carrier, will from 27FEB13 to 30MAR13 adjust its operations, which will see its Brazil service operated with Boeing 777-200ER aircraft while Lisbon switches to an all-Boeing 777-300ER operation. 

► MOZAMBIQUE: LAM Mozambique getting a B737-500, but cash crunch delays launch of international routes.

Mozambican national carrier LAM Mozambique (TM) is, at the end of this month, to receive a Boeing 737-500 (likely MSN: 25418 | ZS-PKV), in addition to its third and final Embraer E190 due in late October/early November, as the carrier moves to consolidate itself domestically and regionally writes the Mozambican national daily, O País.